There's a bar in the Lower Haight right near Church & Market Street in San Francisco called "The Orbit Room" that has a wide variety of absolutely INCREDIBLE cocktails in the $9-12 range (very reasonable for this goddamn expensive city) that skimp neither on flavor nor ABV. It's also very rarely crowded and has an amazing, super mellow atmosphere, which is doubly rare in that area. Once upon a time it was home to easily the greatest bartender I've ever encountered, but he's since departed.

Girion47:I have a great collection of bars here in Louisville. Can always get in, always have good drink deals, and the beer selection is top notch.

The thing I loved about Louisville (aside from the Victorian architecture) was that every bar has a separate shelf reserved for bourbon. Just amazing.

Favorite bars:Sip-and-Dip, Great Falls, Montana. A tiki bar in Montana, with a hot girl dressed in a mermaid suit.O'Maddy's, Gulfport, FL. Getting a little too Stetsoned, but a great place. I've driven past there on Christmas morning and the place already has a few derelicts perched on the bar stools.FlorabamaSome farking bar in the mountains of central Costa Rica. Have no idea of the name, but I was the only white guy there, half-a-foot taller then everyone, but they were nice as hell to me, buying me drinks, teaching me bullriding techniques (despite the complete lack of any sort of props, much less a bull), even went to a cockfight with some of the regulars and then came back drinking.Fairview Lounge, Fairview, ND/MT. Right on the state line. Bunch of beet farmers and cattle ranchers. Cops show up at closing time to offer folks a ride home. Caveat - haven't been there since the Bakken field opened up.The Whitetail Lounge, Tennile, FL.Alchemy, Tallahassee, FL - a little smug, but very chill

Dahnkster:5. Flora-Bama Lounge and Package Store (Perdido Key near FL-AL state line) Don't go here if you don't like fun. Sure they might have a Jimmy Buffet-like acoustic guy... thing is, Buffet used to play and hang out. The place is PACKED to the hub with cute babes and young guys. The popularity of the place has it divided into 3 or 4 separate areas. There is a beach bar overlooking the Gulf, a club-dance section featuring the latest and classics in dance/country/club tunes. There's an inside rock bar with the usual cover band playing indy and rock standards. There's a mullet toss, sugar white beaches and emerald green water out back.

My personal favorite watering hole has to be Larry's Bar in Columbus, Ohio. What atmosphere. Charmingly grungy, with old wood paneling, high-backed booths, 50-cent-a-game pool table, nice beer selection, and easily the best jukebox I've ever encountered. Live music every so often and a weekly poetry slam run by some OSU grad students. I was very sad to hear that they closed down a few years back.

Empty Matchbook:There's a bar in the Lower Haight right near Church & Market Street in San Francisco called "The Orbit Room" that has a wide variety of absolutely INCREDIBLE cocktails in the $9-12 range (very reasonable for this goddamn expensive city) that skimp neither on flavor nor ABV. It's also very rarely crowded and has an amazing, super mellow atmosphere, which is doubly rare in that area. Once upon a time it was home to easily the greatest bartender I've ever encountered, but he's since departed.

Robo Beat:scarmig: chitownmike: halfof33: There is a great AUTHENTICIrish pub bar in Chicago called Fado.

Their house drink is called an "Irish Car Bomb" and they have the coldest Bud Light in the City.

Really, fado, that's the best irish bar in chicago? Best burger must be at rock and roll mcdonalds then/you suck!

I wrote it off as a subtle troll. I mean, nobody is stupid enough to say a bar serving an "Irish Car Bomb" is an authentic Irish bar. Nobody.

Right?

If you can order a "Black & Tan" without running the risk of getting glassed, it's not an authentic Irish bar.

In DC there used to be two "Irish " bars right across the street from each other: Ireland's Four Provinces which was a lovely, classy place to eat and drink with gourmet food and lots of imported Irish beers on tap, and great nationally known Irish music acts every night.

Across the street was Nanny O'Brien's a dive of a place with an indifferent beer selection and whose best dish, by far, was their nacho's. In the back was a six-inch raised platform where a local band who maybe knew some Irish tunes might play twice a week.

Which one was the more "Authentic" Irish pub?Nanny's hands down.

Partly because of their single bar-maid, the inimitable, and irepressible "Hurricane Meg", who was the finest server the world has ever known. Your glass got refilled just when you wanted it, but she never pestered you, or interrupted conversations at the table to pimp more booze. Partly it was because it truly was the kinda place you could go into on a random night, take a seat at the bar, and find yourself engrossed in a fascinating coversation, about nearly any subject, before an hour was out, if you wanted, or where you'd be left alone to drink and read, or listen to music when you didn't

MonkeyAngst:Sybarite: The Distinguished Wakamba Cocktail Lounge, New York"It's a remnant of another era. There's no mixologist behind the bar. If you were to order a drink with more than two components, you'd get the dirty look."

Doesn't sound like much of a cocktail lounge.

It's just a name. How many "Bar and Grills" have you seen where there hasn't been a working grill in thirty years? Hell, how many bars are called "The [something] Inn" despite being very clearly not an inn?

Maybe it's just where I live, but all of the bar and grills have grills and everything with the word Inn has lodging.

My favorite bar of all time was a little place called Max Tavern on Racine in Chicago, which closed many years ago. They had fun, unpretentious people hanging out there, amazingly diverse music all the time, dozens of globes hanging from the ceiling (for some damn reason), and one of those 4-pictures-for-a-dollar booths in the back of the room. To this day, I carry in my wallet a little b&w photo of myself and Mrs_Fab raising bottles of Augsburger, from back in our dating days. Loved that place, man.

Avonmore:I have to say that he is spot on about the Double Down in Vegas. It's an awesome grungy dive where I was lucky enough to once play punk rock bingo as hosted by a Juggalo Santa. Awesome juke box, cool bartenders, best of all it's way off the strip so you don't have to deal with the neon haze.

Their signature drink is called Ass Juice, and $5 will get you an Ass Juice and a Twinkie. $7 will get you an Ass Juice, a PBR, and a Slim Jim.

If that doesn't sound amazing then I don't know what does

You do realize that Ass Juice is a mat shot. i.e. the mat that they spill on while they make the drinks. They empty it out in a large container and use it for a shot.

realmolo:grimlaf: flipping channels, I came across the show "Bar Rescue"; host was wanting to bring in this "mixologist" girl to create some mashmallow-vodka/lime juice horror, some other douche to teach the regular bartenders to flip around bottles...others can do as they like but if I walked in to my neighborhood bar and saw that crap... I would move.I went in last weekend, sat at the end of the bar. Place was busy but the bartender waved at me. Minute later, he walked down, said hi, and slid me a glass of bourbon. I sat and read my book, he kept my glass filled until I told him goodnight, paid my tab and left.that is how it should be.

Yeah, I like "Bar Rescue", but Jon Taffer isn't interested in creating anything with character. He turns bars into nice, generic money-makers. That's generally what pisses of the owners of the bars he remodels - his changes suck all of the personality out of "their" place. In the end, though, a bar is there to make money, and I can't really disagree with Taffer's mercenary attitude.

Lunchlady:CoonAce: Lunchlady: CoonAce: jaybeezey: This article could also be titled: "5 bars that will be full of D-Bags after this article gets released."

Douchebags always float in & flush out of any joint. When the bartenders are a little salty and there is an absence of craft beer & artisanal cocktails, fewer douchebags hang around, for some reason.

I don't know there are some places where the douchebags are the main money makers at most places so they do everything they can to attract them.

/Looking at you West Hollywood.

I couldn't agree more. None of those places come to mind when I think about the best bars in the world.

Oh certainly not, I would never argue otherwise.

It's just a shame because there are some places in West Hollywood where it can be a lot of fun some nights and other nights it just becomes a cavalcade of douche.

There is a certain plus to being a regular when the douches arrive. My friends and I provide an island of non-douchery along the bar in many a CVille VA establishment.

When the UVA fratdouchebags show up, the bartenders are very happy to have us there. Many nights Ive left with a sub $10 tab after a night of drinking, which has been subsidized by the greeks and their $15 mojitos.

This thread has a winner. Until you have been to Snake and Jakes you cannot say you have been in a real dive bar.

I love a bar that, everytime I leave, I swear that I'll never return. of course, the sun is usually up when I leave, so my ability to make insightful statements about the future is very limited.

/ heard an interview with the owner, he talked about how a local writer would come in all the time, usually yelling, "I'm liquor store robbing drunk - give me a shot!" // interestingly, anthony bourdain had this writer on one of his shows in nola.

Sybarite:MonkeyAngst: Sybarite: The Distinguished Wakamba Cocktail Lounge, New York"It's a remnant of another era. There's no mixologist behind the bar. If you were to order a drink with more than two components, you'd get the dirty look."

Doesn't sound like much of a cocktail lounge.

It's just a name. How many "Bar and Grills" have you seen where there hasn't been a working grill in thirty years? Hell, how many bars are called "The [something] Inn" despite being very clearly not an inn?

Maybe it's just where I live, but all of the bar and grills have grills and everything with the word Inn has lodging.

Well, that would indeed be just where you live. I can't think of an example of a bar and grill without a grill, but I can think of a few "Inns" here in Austin -- Scoot Inn, Longbranch Inn -- without lodging.

My point was that putting "Cocktail Lounge" in the name of the bar should not be construed to imply that they have either cocktails or lounging.

jackiepaper:downstairs: realmolo: grimlaf: flipping channels, I came across the show "Bar Rescue"; host was wanting to bring in this "mixologist" girl to create some mashmallow-vodka/lime juice horror, some other douche to teach the regular bartenders to flip around bottles... others can do as they like but if I walked in to my neighborhood bar and saw that crap... I would move. I went in last weekend, sat at the end of the bar. Place was busy but the bartender waved at me. Minute later, he walked down, said hi, and slid me a glass of bourbon. I sat and read my book, he kept my glass filled until I told him goodnight, paid my tab and left. that is how it should be.

Yeah, I like "Bar Rescue", but Jon Taffer isn't interested in creating anything with character. He turns bars into nice, generic money-makers. That's generally what pisses of the owners of the bars he remodels - his changes suck all of the personality out of "their" place. In the end, though, a bar is there to make money, and I can't really disagree with Taffer's mercenary attitude.

So much this.

I watch the show because I like seeing the goings on behind the scenes at various bars. But yeah, he totally sucks the character out of every bar he renovates. Most don't need renovation, they just need better management and a deep-clean.

Except that pirate bar. That place needed the makeover, other than the stupid name he gave it. That owner and her husband are morans

Sweet! I have a new show to watch! I'm watching the pirate bar right now, and yeah, those people are nuts.

pute kisses like a man:I love a bar that, everytime I leave, I swear that I'll never return. of course, the sun is usually up when I leave, so my ability to make insightful statements about the future is very limited.

/ heard an interview with the owner, he talked about how a local writer would come in all the time, usually yelling, "I'm liquor store robbing drunk - give me a shot!" // interestingly, anthony bourdain had this writer on one of his shows in nola.

Magorn:Robo Beat: scarmig: chitownmike: halfof33: There is a great AUTHENTICIrish pub bar in Chicago called Fado.

Their house drink is called an "Irish Car Bomb" and they have the coldest Bud Light in the City.

Really, fado, that's the best irish bar in chicago? Best burger must be at rock and roll mcdonalds then/you suck!

I wrote it off as a subtle troll. I mean, nobody is stupid enough to say a bar serving an "Irish Car Bomb" is an authentic Irish bar. Nobody.

Right?

If you can order a "Black & Tan" without running the risk of getting glassed, it's not an authentic Irish bar.

In DC there used to be two "Irish " bars right across the street from each other: Ireland's Four Provinces which was a lovely, classy place to eat and drink with gourmet food and lots of imported Irish beers on tap, and great nationally known Irish music acts every night.

Across the street was Nanny O'Brien's a dive of a place with an indifferent beer selection and whose best dish, by far, was their nacho's. In the back was a six-inch raised platform where a local band who maybe knew some Irish tunes might play twice a week.

Which one was the more "Authentic" Irish pub?Nanny's hands down.

Partly because of their single bar-maid, the inimitable, and irepressible "Hurricane Meg", who was the finest server the world has ever known. Your glass got refilled just when you wanted it, but she never pestered you, or interrupted conversations at the table to pimp more booze. Partly it was because it truly was the kinda place you could go into on a random night, take a seat at the bar, and find yourself engrossed in a fascinating coversation, about nearly any subject, before an hour was out, if you wanted, or where you'd be left alone to drink and read, or listen to music when you didn't

The former 4Ps just reopened as The Uptown Tavern methinks, and its gone now. It's all fancy with tableclothes and an oyster bar and shiat. Nannies carries on

/just started working at Murphys in Woodley Park, we're still pretty divey & Irish. Will buy you a beer when you come in. Wildly hungover right now from too many after hours Kilkennys//and if you want dive bars in that neck of the woods, head to the Zoo bar

downstairs:pute kisses like a man: I love a bar that, everytime I leave, I swear that I'll never return. of course, the sun is usually up when I leave, so my ability to make insightful statements about the future is very limited.

/ heard an interview with the owner, he talked about how a local writer would come in all the time, usually yelling, "I'm liquor store robbing drunk - give me a shot!" // interestingly, anthony bourdain had this writer on one of his shows in nola.

Ok... let me guess. I'll take Chris Rose for $800.

Do I win?

correct.

you win the opportunity to tell people that you're "liquor store robbing drunk" next time you go out. I love that sentence. maybe it doesn't have the same appeal to others, but I think it's the best thing I've heard in a while.

I'll add Ye Olde Tap Room in Detroit to that list - was a speakeasy during prohibition and still functioning with very few changes today. I think it's their 100yr anniversary this year too. CSB:I once beat Meg White in darts and she bought us a round there (still use metal tipped darts, not that plastic crap). I miss the beer garden out back with the barb wire keeping the riff raff out.

There's a place for bars like that, but too often they are sort of gimmicky, are out of whatever your first and second choices were, and have terribly kitschy atmosphere..

Naja's should definitely count as a dive - the music is too loud, the furniture is dented and sticky, and the food is made by a very busy guy running a griddle in full view of everybody. The list of beers on tap is kept on a whiteboard over the bar. They just happen to have some insanely delicious beer - and also Bud Lite, if that's what the occasion calls for. They wouldn't know a gimmick if it bit them.

hugram:Lt. Cheese Weasel: I like Bourdain, but sorry, No Raffles - Singapore?

List fail

He explained in one of his shows that it is a tourist trap. The hotel is very pretty and I did go there to drink a Singapore Sling. Pretty bar but I'm not sure it would be considered on a top 5 list.

Then you didn't partake of the other important part of that bar's services. The hookers. All you had to do is ask the bartender and he would lay down a long list of numbers for a nominal fee. Top shelf pussy, white boy, A numbah one, they love you looong time.

hulk hogan meat shoes:Re: Bar Rescue. If you cannot make money with a bar, you are an idiot. 80% of the time, the owners don't even know how to cost out a menu. That goes for all the other restaurant rescue shows too. Everything you sell should make a profit.

I'm not sure that's true. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but don't a lot of restaurants lose a little on their food hoping to make it up on drinks?

There's a place for bars like that, but too often they are sort of gimmicky, are out of whatever your first and second choices were, and have terribly kitschy atmosphere..

Naja's should definitely count as a dive - the music is too loud, the furniture is dented and sticky, and the food is made by a very busy guy running a griddle in full view of everybody. The list of beers on tap is kept on a whiteboard over the bar. They just happen to have some insanely delicious beer - and also Bud Lite, if that's what the occasion calls for. They wouldn't know a gimmick if it bit them.

/Lives within walking distance.//Has had difficulty walking back.

You live within WALKING distance to Naja's? That means you are also within walking distance to Tony's on the pier. Where you can get the best fried clams and their famous Mai Tai.

Only one I've been to on there is Double Down Saloon. It was okay. I don't mind the dive bar atmosphere at all, but there's an identical one of these bars in pretty much every city and moderately sized town. Not sure what makes this one special, unless it was just an off night.

Uhhh, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this guy a recovering heroin addict? I thought those unstable folks were supposed to avoid places like bars because getting drunk is just a half-step away from dancing with Mr. Brownstone again.

2words1finger:Uhhh, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this guy a recovering heroin addict? I thought those unstable folks were supposed to avoid places like bars because getting drunk is just a half-step away from dancing with Mr. Brownstone again.

All2morrowsparTs:Avonmore: I have to say that he is spot on about the Double Down in Vegas. It's an awesome grungy dive where I was lucky enough to once play punk rock bingo as hosted by a Juggalo Santa. Awesome juke box, cool bartenders, best of all it's way off the strip so you don't have to deal with the neon haze.

Their signature drink is called Ass Juice, and $5 will get you an Ass Juice and a Twinkie. $7 will get you an Ass Juice, a PBR, and a Slim Jim.

If that doesn't sound amazing then I don't know what does

You do realize that Ass Juice is a mat shot. i.e. the mat that they spill on while they make the drinks. They empty it out in a large container and use it for a shot.

I learned that the hard way.//best bar in Vegas. Hands down.

Reminds me of this linked bit from Paul F. Tompkins' first HBO stand up special Driven To Drink: